India's Larsen & Toubro on massive recruiting drive
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Indian engineering and construction heavyweight Larsen & Toubro (L&T) says it will generate close to 20,000 jobs in next 12 months directly and indirectly.
With an order book it says is worth Rs 90,000 crore (US$19.8bn) L&T told India’s The Economic Times that its group companies will recruit 5,000 technical and non-technical people and 1,500 IT people in next 12 months. It also claimed it would generate over 13,000 indirect employment through contracts. Current headcount is about 45,000.
L&T is expected to invest Rs 25,000 crore in next five years for expanding capacities, port facilities, commissioning of power plants, shipyard and roads, among others. It will commission one new factory in every three to four months.
“We have committed investments worth Rs 7,000 crore in worst of the time when nobody was willing to take such risks,” a company spokesman is quoted as saying. “L&T will emerge as national treasure when market gains momentum on account of its capabilities and talent. I don’t think there is anyone better prepared than us.”
L&T has criticized India’s IT sector for robbing engineers to staff call centres and BPOs. The spokesman said: “In last couple of years, IT companies have not recruited much and hence we will not face troubles in finding the right talent. I believe that engineers should work in the field of engineering and construction. In IT sector, barely 10% of the engineers do what they have studied.”
Source: iCON - the international magazine of the CIOB (www.iconreview.org)
